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: Assault weapons ban pushed : by Steven T. Dennis : Sep. 17, 2003 : Maryland lawmakers are pushing for a new state assault weapons ban, pointing to last year's sniper attacks for ammunition. : "I can think of no greater memorial for the sniper victims," said Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, standing outside the county courthouse complex in Rockville on Monday. : The snipers terrorized the community with a single assault weapon, Duncan (D) said. "One weapon did that. Ten people were killed and many others were injured from that weapon. How was it possible that anyone could get an assault rifle like this?" : Duncan said the sad fact is the the Bushmaster rifle used in the shooting was a legal knockoff of the AR-15, a gun banned under federal law. The federal ban is set to expire in a year, and efforts to extend the ban have stalled in Congress. : Duncan urged the passage of the ban to "protect Marylanders from these weapons of mass destruction." : "It's time we understood the difference between handguns and shotguns, which people feel they need for self defense or hunting, and assault weapons," said Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler (D), adding that there is no reason for a civilian to have an AK-47 or an Uzi. : State Sen. Robert J. Garagiola (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown said his bill would be significantly more strict than the federal ban. The federal law bans weapons with two or more assault characteristics, such as a pistol grip. Garagiola's bill would ban weapons with one or more assault characteristics. : "Our goal is not to take away a hunting weapon," said Del. Neil Quinter (D-Dist. 13) of Columbia, who is sponsoring the legislation in the House. : Weapons currently legal would be grandfathered under the bill, Quinter said. The National Rifle Association has strongly opposed the gun ban proposal in the past, including during this year's legislative session, when Garagiola's bill died in committee. : Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) also has opposed gun bans at the state and federal level. : A similar announcement was made earlier Monday in Baltimore with Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) and other supporters of the Garagiola-Quinter bills. : Del. Carmen Amedori (R-Dist. 5) of Westminster vowed to stop any gun control efforts. "It seems that the gun grabbers are already gearing up to once again infringe upon the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, with the news of proposed legislation that will ban so-called 'assault weapons,'" Amedori said in a statement. : She added: "It appears that this is nothing more than political posturing by Martin O'Malley and/or Doug Duncan. And I would urge Mayor O'Malley to dedicate more of his time in trying to enforce the laws that are currently on the books than once again trying to infringe upon the law-abiding citizen with yet another law that will do nothing to deter criminal activity."

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